Mental Health & Wellbeing

Five Myths About HIV In Australia‏

Australia had a quick and effective response to HIV at the start of the epidemic. Some 30 years later, however, there’s a tendency to underestimate the sheer effort involved in maintaining HIV prevention responses. Misinformation and lazy assumptions about quick fixes can mar sustained and effective HIV prevention. The nation’s initial response was multifaceted. On [...]

10 Ways To Support Someone With Mental Health Challenges

Millions of people with mental health issues lead happy, productive, and extremely normal lives. Many people with mental health conditions never tell their loved ones, and their behavior may be no different from people without mental health conditions. Indeed, more than 25% of Americans receive a mental health diagnosis at least once. But this doesn’t [...]

Teenagers more anxious and depressed

Teenagers are experiencing more depression and anxiety than they did a decade or more ago, with doctors reporting an increase in the most serious and difficult cases. A review of 19 studies conducted across 12 countries has found the majority showed a deterioration in the mental health of teenage girls when it came to depressive and [...]

Genetics may be Key to a Nation’s Level of Happiness

Countries are gradually giving up the goal of high GDP and trying to find a better measure of human well-being. Science will help us to do that. I reckon that over the next few decades we will see biomarker measures come to be used in a systematic way, and genetic markers are in that spirit." [...]

What Is The Impact Of Too Much Caffeine?

When entering a school to present our Safe Partying seminars, I am usually greeted by a teacher on a ‘break’ (a questionable term) from lesson with a cup of coffee in hand. For most, I know this is not the first cup of coffee, with many more pours throughout the day for that extra burst [...]

Dr Donnelly

My article last week that discussed whether of not particular school discipline procedures were a breach of students’ human rights, I didn’t even think to comment on corporal punishment. Why would I? It’s not relevant these days is it? So what to make of the fact that last week, Dr Kevin Donnelly stated that, as [...]

4 Ways Of Choosing Happiness From Within

What makes you happy?  Reflect on what you’ve done today. What do your behaviors say about your approach to happiness? These are the question I usually ask students on the first day of my psychology courses. Often, their responses sound something like this: food, shopping, a new car, a better job, money, sex, an honest spouse, [...]

Flow and the natural high

It’s sometimes referred to as 'flow'. People who have experienced it have described flow this way: “felt easy”, “complete task focus”, ”totally relaxed”, “enjoying experience as it occurs”, “totally absorbed in what I am doing”, “endless supply of energy”, “things happening automatically”, “nothing else enters awareness”, and “leaves you feeling great”. - The Long Run via [...]

Positive Sex Education Vs Online Porn!

Who is teaching young people about sex and relationships in the digital era?   Issue Today, pornography’s influence is everywhere.  Porn influences mainstream advertising, music videos, fashion and popular culture.  Australian children are growing up in a digital world dominated by sexualised imagery that reinforces inequity and the notion that women are objects to be controlled, managed and dominated.             Use of pornography in [...]

Body size weighs heavily on kids

New research by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) shows children are expressing dissatisfaction with their body size as early as 8-9 years old and the majority of 10-11 years old are trying to control their weight. Executive Manager of AIFS' Longitudinal Study for Australian Children, Dr Ben Edwards said the research also showed [...]

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